Coffee Appreciation

Just found one on gumtree for A$200!! Should I?!? Not keen on spending a lot of money TBH...

1 Attachment

That Rocko Mountain is lovely. Strangers are one of my local coffee shop/roasters.

Great to hear. It used to be a regular at Ancoats and was awesome so was great to see it again, took a punt despite having a yb order on it's way too.

Results from saturated citric acid solution test!

One very clean and undamaged copper pipe and a lightly copper plated steel nail 💪

1 Attachment

It's another scales question! This one is for pourover people.

I did a fair bit of research on scales last year and settled on the My Weigh Barista ones. Primarily I wanted something durable and simple (no bluetooth/smartphone app stuff) and reasonably affordable, crucially with a USB-rechargeable internal battery because the idea of having to frequently replace AAA batteries on a daily-use scale these days seems bonkers to me. They are perfect on almost every level but have a maddening design flaw, which is that the timer automatically stops and can only be reset to zero if the scale notices any 'drastic' weight change during brewing. Because this feature is insanely sensitive (as in, so much as stirring the slurry will usually stop the timer), they're basically useless for pourovers. So, I think I might try to move them on and get something else.

What else are you all using that fit the bill of being rechargeable and well made? Should I just have splashed out on the Hario V60 one at double the price of the My Weigh one?

a probably ridiculous side question: could someone who is smart with electronics conceivably do something about that auto-stop function??

Is there a strong reason for not using rechargeable AA/AAA batteries vs USB-charged internal batteries? Would give you a fair bit more choice

just deeply dislike having to think about replacing batteries when I could have something I can always just plug in. Have always hated it on my kitchen scales. But I mean I'm also open to suggestions if there's something you really reckon I should consider.

The Timemore black mirror have been great with no lag and v accurate, £45, rechargeable etc

With rechargeable batteries you can recycle them when they die and continue using the scales. With a built in battery you'll have to throw the whole thing away and buy a new one, unless you can take it apart and find a replacement. Solution in search of a problem really

That's fair enough, I must have around 40 or so rechargeable AA/AAA batteries around the house so it's pretty easy to add another 1 or 2 for some scales, but I get the desire for simplicity (just bought a USB-rechargeable 9V battery actually, what a time to be alive!). I normally stick with the very basic 'jewellers scales' for 1 cup pour-overs (and espresso) and my regular kitchen scales for anything bigger so no standout recommendations from me to be honest.

Have heard good things about the Black Mirror recommended there though ^

Thanks, will have a look into that.

@frankenbike @mmccarthy This is a good point about rechargeable batteries and I will have a look into it, thanks - I've honestly never thought about it as an option somehow. When I've worked as a baker before I've really rated the corded scales that have an internal battery in case of power failure during weighing, so you can always run them no matter what's happening or whether or not you have batteries to hand - and because I always use my coffee scales in exactly the same spot each morning I always think, why aren't kitchen scales you can plug into a wall more of a thing?

FWIW I have had my Hario scales since 2019. Use them daily a not just for coffee. Haven't had to replace batterie yet.

thanks – these ones?

Yes, those ones. In fact, I've probably had them since Christmas 2018 thinking about it.

Cheers, will put them into the thought soup in that case

Ngl I'm mostly just pissed about the My Weigh ones because they are otherwise perfect and I generally really rate their build quality. How could you possibly put such a disruptive function in and not make it possible to switch it off, like with the auto-off function?

the idea of having to frequently replace AAA batteries on a daily-use scale these days seems bonkers to me

Some of my rechargeable AAs and AAAs are 12 years old now and all but one heavily used pair work as well as the day I bought them. Can highly recommend the low self discharge GP Recyko NiMh ones. Got them in everything. They'll easily do a year in the remote controls before needing recharging.

extremely compelling info, thank you

I don't rate the Hario ones - my pair have 'drift' so I'm not convinced how accurate they are.

Yeah - bargain! Throw some beans through but even if you have to change the burrs, it’s a five minute job and they don’t cost much. (About 40 bucks US)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8tQh8clAKE

Jesus, that's almost as bad as that seat-stay mounted, chain-driven coffee grinder

Very happy with the one I bought off @TTM

Just made a DIY single dose funnel. And it came with the rubber camera hood mod to make adding a single dose of beans easier.

Mazzer make this for a scandalous £117
https://www.theespressoshop.co.uk/Mobile/en/Mazzer-Mini-Electronic-Coffee-Funnel---S000IMB08/m-m-4498.aspx

So I bought one of these for a tenner off eBay.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Unique-WElinks-Stainless-Dispenser-Accessories/dp/B07X1Y8LPM/ref=asc_df_B07X1Y8LPM/

Used a gas torch to pop off the welds on the handle, drilled off the other holder on the inside then went to work with a junior hacksaw and some files. Not a perfect job, but perfectly good for £10 and a bit of patience.

2 Attachments